Pirate Bay Founder Guilty of Hacking, Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

Following a trial spanning two weeks, the Stockholm District Court has just handed down its sentence in the Gottfrid Svartholm hacking case. The 28-year-old was found guilty of hacking into Logica, a company carrying out work for local tax authorities, and sentenced to two years in jail. Another man, said to be his accomplice, was sentenced to probation.

After a long investigation the trial of Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm got underway in the Stockholm District Court last month.

Gottfrid and a 36-year-old stood accused of hacking into Logica, a Swedish IT company carrying out work for local tax authorities, and local bank Nordea.

Confronted with prosecution evidence which had in part been found on a computer seized from Gottfrid’s apartment in Cambodia last year, the 28-year-old said he believed others had gained access to his equipment.

Just a few moments ago the Nacka District Court handed down its verdict.

The Court said that it had found the prosecution’s case against Gottfrid and his accomplice convincing, since among other things it ruled out the possibility that a third party could have carried out the hacking from the defendants’ computers.

The Court also noted that chat conversations between the defendants showed that in addition to being the perpetrators of the hacking offenses, they also acted in concert.

As a result, Gottfrid was found guilty of hacking, aggravated fraud and attempted aggravated fraud, and sentenced to two years in prison. His 36-year-old accomplice was sentenced to probation.

Earlier this week the Nacka District Court ruled that Gottfrid can also be extradited to Denmark where he is accused of hacking into the mainframes of CSC, a Danish IT company working with the Government.